Flag of Afghanistan

Facts, history and meaning about the flag of Afghanistan

Afghanistan is located in Asia.

The official ISO 3166 code for Afghanistan is:

The new Taliban flag

The flag commonly associated with the Taliban features a plain white field with black Arabic script displaying the shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith. The shahada reads: “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” This design has been used by the Taliban since the 1990s, when the movement first emerged in Afghanistan. The white background traditionally symbolizes purity in Islamic tradition, while the black script reflects the historic use of calligraphy for religious texts.

Following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the group adopted this flag as the primary emblem of its government, replacing the tricolored black-red-green national flag used by the previous Republic. The Taliban flag is used on official buildings, documents, and public events under the current de facto authorities. Although the group considers it the national flag, its status remains controversial within Afghanistan and internationally, as no broad diplomatic recognition of the Taliban government exists.

The flag’s simplicity distinguishes it from earlier Afghan flags, which often incorporated national symbols, emblems, or more complex color patterns. Today, the white flag with the shahada is one of the most recognizable symbols linked to the Taliban’s rule and identity.

The old flag of Afghanistan

The previous flag of Afghanistan was adopted in 2004, when a new constitution was established.

The colors come in the order of black, red and green. The emblem in the middle of the flag is the state weapon of Afghanistan and symbolizes a mosque with an opening called mihrab, facing Mecca.

Over the past 300 years, Afghanistan has had around 20 different kinds of flags, including completely black flags, white variations and predominantly red socialist flags, etc.

The previous flag was adopted in connection with the country's new constitution in January 2004. From 1880, during the emirate, the flag was completely black, and from 1901, it also showed the Afghan emblem. However, between 1973 and 1978, the Republic of Afghanistan had a different flag and during the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, a number of different flags were used.

Earlier, under the Taliban regime in 1996-2001, the flag was fully white. In 1997, the flag was white with shahadah, also known as an Arabic script.

---

You'll find all the world flags on our start page.
Or browse some more flags from Asia.

Find out more about Afghanistan on Wikipedia. You will always learn something new!